Match Thread Blades vs Scunthorpe - MATCH POSTPONED

[BornOnShorehamStreet]

So, here we are 30 minutes from kick off - i wonder if all that snow and ice has melted ...

 

[Deadbat]

I think there are some genuine arguments for and against. Of course do not want anyone to get hurt and there may have been that risk (but that risk is same at a lot of games that are happening today).

Personally glad it was off. I did not fancy slipping and sliding my way down too the Lane but I would have done if it had gone ahead and that would have been my risk; same as others. If they did not want to go they stay at home. Simple. As others have said the shops are open, people are expected in work when it is like that and you cannot really sue anyone if you fall on the way to such places. You make the choice.

I still think the club had no intention of getting the game on; the press statements and the way it was portrayed yesterday made that all too obvious. From the moment they put the initial release I thought there is no way this game is going ahead.

Today showed shots that snow had not even been cleared off the pitch in the shots taken today? They showed the Kop steps that had not been touched today. Why not? Surely the ground could have been cleared. I accept the argument about the streets and the Council rightly taking some blame but how far do United go? If they had cleared the ground areas and at least maybe gritted the surrounding streets/car park; it would have gone ahead. They had no intention of the game going ahead and I think it is reasonable to think such when the car park/terrace/steps had simply not been touched (as the video shows). Quite sad really that we seem afraid of playing Scunthorpe at the Lane as we have a few injuries/suspensions/loss of form.

Seen Forest got it on with no problems whatsoever (lots of snow piled side of pitch) and the rest off the country (bar Accrington) have got games on without a problem. So why is Health and Safety such an issue for us but not others?? Maybe it is just the Sheffield council that is crap and United are blameless but the videos/pictures to me do not exactly fill me with confidence that United were putting out all the efforts to get the game on.

Poor in my opinion and all this talk over health and safety is to be frank a load of crap. People take their own risks in getting to the game. If United ensure the stadium is cleared/pitch ok' it goes ahead. As I say no other club bar one has failed to get their game on. They had same issues/things to consider but all get theirs on. United had 36 hours with mostly no further snow (light flurry that was it). If this had been a game on Sky do people think it would go ahead? Think most know the answer to that.

Don't even know why I am bothered! I get to stay in the warm and avoid watching another let down.

 

[Dkc]

We travelled up from Hertfordshire yesterday and roads were fine until we reached Chesterfield. After that they were very dodgy.

After an icy night and no chance to thaw parking near the ground would have been a nightmare and pathways treacherous. It really was the only decision to postpone. Even if they had gone ahead, we wouldn't have risked it from Coal Aston.

The club could have advised fans to park in the city centre. There are plenty of car parks off the Moor, and if more people used them perhaps the council could afford to grit the roads

 

[UnitedBlade]

I had to travel to Sheffield anyway and having seen the pavements in the suburbs I can see Sheffield has had it really bad. If it's the same round the ground I can see why they called it off.

I still have my suspicions that United didn't do much to ensure the Kop and car park were cleared. They don't seem to have any appetite for L1 games at the moment.

 

[Highbury_Blade]

We travelled up from Hertfordshire yesterday and roads were fine until we reached Chesterfield. After that they were very dodgy.

After an icy night and no chance to thaw parking near the ground would have been a nightmare and pathways treacherous. It really was the only decision to postpone. Even if they had gone ahead, we wouldn't have risked it from Coal Aston.

The pathways around the ground are not treacherous at the moment. I know because I walked on them last night whilst completely wankered and didn't fall down once.

 

[Deadbat]

I think it has also set a dangerous precedent. If it snows again or is icy then United may have to call any games off?

As others have said; not sure what the point of having undersoil heating as it matters little about the pitch - more about the roads/pavements around the ground?

My main point remains:

If United had cleared the car park/terraces/steps and said sadly we have cleared our whole ground/pitch but the roads around the ground have not been treated and this due to this we have called it off - I may have accepted it (still not agreed as not sure how far the clubs responsibility goes -' its slippy on a road half a mile away so it is off?' or 'We are shutting Meadowhall as it is icy in Attercliffe') but not sure how everyone can blame the council when the video and evidence from the ground suggest United made little attempt to ready their own ground and did as little as the council in reality.

It was odd also that the referee seemingly made the call. Surely he has nothing to do with any decision taken re : outside the ground? Would that not be the Safety Officer.

 

[grafikhaus]

Tell you what, deadbat. Why not use the spare afternoon and write a report on the match anyway?

I'll start you off:

'The first half passed without a single United attempt on goal. Scunthorpe's goalkeeper was in danger of getting frostbite. Just on the stroke of half time, United's defence failed to spot an unmarked Lyle Taylor at the far post and his headed goal was unchallenged.

In the second half, repeated sideways and backwards passes by United failed to penetrate the resolute Scunthorpe defence and, as the fourth official signalled 4 extra minutes, Nigel Clough introduced McNulty.

I'll let you fill the other bits in!

 

[shorehamview]

A friend has just been to town. Her verdict on the state of of the paths sums Sheffield council up. "Like a fucking giant skating rink." No paths have been gritted, by all accounts. That's hardly the club's fault, is it?

 

[grafikhaus]

A friend has just been to town. Her verdict on the state of of the paths sums Sheffield council up. "Like a fucking giant skating rink." No paths have been gritted, by all accounts. That's hardly the club's fault, is it?

She's no laydee using language like that!

Seriously, about eight/ten years ago we played Man. City on (I think) Boxing Day. The pavements were absolutely lethal and that's something to be factored in. I certainly don't want to spend New Years Eve (or any other time) in Northern General.

 

[Deadbat]

Tell you what, deadbat. Why not use the spare afternoon and write a report on the match anyway?

I'll start you off:

'The first half passed without a single United attempt on goal. Scunthorpe's goalkeeper was in danger of getting frostbite. Just on the stroke of half time, United's defence failed to spot an unmarked Lyle Taylor at the far post and his headed goal was unchallenged.

In the second half, repeated sideways and backwards passes by United failed to penetrate the resolute Scunthorpe defence and, as the fourth official signalled 4 extra minutes, Nigel Clough introduced McNulty.

I'll let you fill the other bits in!

It's like you have seen the future. The Taylor goal was inevitable as was the late McNulty substitution. I wish the club had not bothered making the effort to clear the pitch/ground to get the game going ahead. Stupid decision from them.

 

[Foxy]

In the interests of research (well, mainly getting a meal and working our way home with ale), we're going the same route we'd get to the Lane.

Walked to Chesterfield Road for the bus, plenty of cars still abandoned, lots of black ice and snow covered roads and cars getting stuck trying to go uphill.

Foxy going arse over tit on black ice count = 1 so far.

Bus is powering towards London Road though

 

[Silent Blade]

As far as I know, Meadowhall hasn't been closed due to concerns for the safety of shoppers. It attracts about the same amount of people, if not more, on a weekend.

Meadowhall has an indoor car park making it safe for customers to walk from their cars to the shops. Bramall Lane doesnt have an indoor car park so spectators have to find a space to park their cars and they have to take care walking from their car to the ground if S2 is like a skating rink as it is in Dronfield at present. I had to collect my car this morning from a lay by nearby this morning (I couldnt drive my car up my road on Boxing Day night) and the walk to my car was very slippy (with all the hard pressed snow turning into rock ice)

 

[Foxy]

Well the bus from Chesterfield Road got us to London Road, the paths and side roads are still currently covered and it's icy most places.

 

[Bladesman]

Just had a game of subbutteo , due to the match being cancelled , played it on the kitchen table. Blades in stripes , Scunny all white kit.

Score 1-1.

UTB

I think we should just ring the Football League and class that as the official result.

It's probably better than the result we would have got today.

 

[yorkshirecoast]

Absolutely no excuse for the club not clearing the pitch, the concourses or the ground car park. Had the club done that and the game was called off I'm sure nobody would be complaining - not at the club anyway.

When Sky interviewed Brannigan after the decision he said the main concern was the concourse behind the kop. So why the hell didn't the club clear it yesterday / this morning?

 

[Highbury_Blade]

A friend has just been to town. Her verdict on the state of of the paths sums Sheffield council up. "Like a fucking giant skating rink." No paths have been gritted, by all accounts. That's hardly the club's fault, is it?

No, but it is the clubs fault that the south stand access way looks like this

 

[Deadbat]

I think the above pictures and the video need to be shown to the club and asked what attempts were made to clear the steps/access areas to the ground?

As I say for all criticism of Council for roads etc, the club has not touched any of their own ground. They had 36 hours to clear the Kop steps, car park, entrances and unless I am mistaken they have not laid one shovel to the ground from the shots above.

Nothing to suggest to me that they wanted the game on in any way.

 

[Pedro Verde]

Im sure the club would have been able to clear the concourses etc within a couple of hours
The question is did the ref call it off because of the problem with the concourses etc or was it the public area surrounding the ground footpaths etc

 

[JJ Sefton]

When I said the other day that we are a Third Division side and folk should just get used to it this, as much as the dross on the field, is the sort of thing I meant. How many other games have been postponed today? Only Accrington's. We are a badly run, small time shambles. Enjoy your day out at White Hart Lane. Take lots of photos.

 

[finlaytheblade]

I agree. If the game goes ahead our defence would probably be:-

McGahey Kennedy McCevely Harris

Why would we want the game to go ahead!?

A postponement gives us 6 extra days to regroup, get players fit, maybe even sign someone?

And will give us a better chance of beating both Notts County and then Scunthorpe later in the season.

A tactical postponement sometimes requires bullshit and dodgy excuses. Why slag the club for doing what suits us best?

that man talks sense why would we put ourselves through hoops to get a match on when it suits us not to play the only reason scunny fans are going ape shit is they know it would be a good time to play us as our players having played a
large part of vale game with 10 men ,having a nightmare return journey after match.What are you blades fans on !! .Disappointed in you deadbat i thought you were a big blade but you are sounding very negative.Every football club
in the land would not want to play on the back of a difficult 48 hours.The pitch was deemed playable anyway so we did
our bit the council are responsible for pavements and surrounding areas and they would have something to say on that.
as i said in my previouse post health and safety rules today.

 

[JJ Sefton]

that man talks sense why would we put ourselves through hoops to get a match on when it suits us not to play the only reason scunny fans are going ape shit is they know it would be a good time to play us as our players having played a
large part of vale game with 10 men ,having a nightmare return journey after match.What are you blades fans on !! .Disappointed in you deadbat i thought you were a big blade but you are sounding very negative.

It's entirely possible to be a Blade the size of Alpha Centaurii and still be negative.

 

[Deadbat]

I think on the surface United could be perceived as being right from a football point of view not wanting it to go ahead but then surely regardless of poor form, personnel we still should be confident of beating the mighty Scunthorpe at the Lane. If we are scared or would rather not play a side nearer the relegation places than the top with a couple off players out then it is worrying and shows how we have fallen.

However regardless of that United are a professional business that has a duty to do all it can to operate its main business and the fact very other club bar one got its game on is a little fishy. Granted council has to have some responsibility but I do stand by the club has done little to ready the ground.

Of course they cannot say we never wanted it to be played as at the moment we are bobbins.

However I would still like to know what the club actually did do in terms of readying walkways/steps/access?

 

[SE1Blade]

If the club wanted it on, it would have been on. Remember Fulham in the cup last year and all the rain. they risked losing a lot of TV income, and it went ahead. Remember the Villa 'Milosovic' cup match? They risked losing a lot of money and appealed to everyone to come and clear the ground. The match went ahead.
Yesterday all the club groundstaff, apprentices and basically anyone capable of helping should have been clearing the ground yet they were nowhere to be seen.
Even though there would have been about 23,000 there today and only about 14,000 if it's played on a random cold February evening.
The bottom line is the club did not want the match to go ahead.

 

[finlaytheblade]

I think the above pictures and the video need to be shown to the club and asked what attempts were made to clear the steps/access areas to the ground?

As I say for all criticism of Council for roads etc, the club has not touched any of their own ground. They had 36 hours to clear the Kop steps, car park, entrances and unless I am mistaken they have not laid one shovel to the ground from the shots above.

Nothing to suggest to me that they wanted the game on in any way.

why were you so desperate to play this game deadbat after the nightmare of boxing day

 

[groveblade]

that man talks sense why would we put ourselves through hoops to get a match on when it suits us not to play the only reason scunny fans are going ape shit is they know it would be a good time to play us as our players having played a
large part of vale game with 10 men ,having a nightmare return journey after match.What are you blades fans on !! .Disappointed in you deadbat i thought you were a big blade but you are sounding very negative.Every football club
in the land would not want to play on the back of a difficult 48 hours.The pitch was deemed playable anyway so we did
our bit the council are responsible for pavements and surrounding areas and they would have something to say on that.
as i said in my previouse post health and safety rules today.

I think Utd should have done everything possible to get the game on as we really need a league win as soon as possible.

We've got a big squad so Clough needs to be clever enough to use it and we should still be able to beat most teams in this division:

E.g 3-5-2

- - - - - - - - - Howard
- - - McGahey McCarthy McEveley
Cuvelier Reed Doyle Murphy Harris
- - - - - O'Grady Murphy


Subs: Turner, Kennedy, Baxterl, Adams, McNulty, Higdon, JCR/Scougall

 

[highpeakblade]

Had a venture down to BDTBL on route to my mums. The John Street and south stand ends are a right mess outside with snow and ice. Considering these stands house our disabled supporters and generally elderly supporters due to ease of access and no stairs. I would say it was the right call. All side roads round ground a mess to so little suitable parking nearby.

 

[finlaytheblade]

I think Utd should have done everything possible to get the game on as we really need a league win as soon as possible.

We've got a big squad so Clough needs to be clever enough to use it and we should still be able to beat most teams in this division:

E.g 3-5-2

- - - - - - - - - Howard
- - - McGahey McCarthy McEveley
Cuvelier Reed Doyle Murphy Harris
- - - - - O'Grady Murphy


Subs: Turner, Kennedy, Baxterl, Adams, McNulty, Higdon, JCR/Scougall

Grove blade get real alls fair in love war and football

 

[groveblade]

Grove blade get real alls fair in love war and football

Fair enough - but for me it's all about attitude - you need to want to play and win every game - when you've lost you should want the next game as soon as possible to put it right....

SUFC should have demonstrated that attitude by at least clearing pitch, stands and the 4 streets immediately surrounding Bramall Lane - even if game got called off it would have sent out the right messages to fans IMO....

 

[cahill]

If the club wanted it on, it would have been on. Remember Fulham in the cup last year and all the rain. they risked losing a lot of TV income, and it went ahead. Remember the Villa 'Milosovic' cup match? They risked losing a lot of money and appealed to everyone to come and clear the ground. The match went ahead.
Yesterday all the club groundstaff, apprentices and basically anyone capable of helping should have been clearing the ground yet they were nowhere to be seen.
Even though there would have been about 23,000 there today and only about 14,000 if it's played on a random cold February evening.
The bottom line is the club did not want the match to go ahead.

You really think we would have had 23,000 today after our recent form ?

 

[SE1Blade]

You really think we would have had 23,000 today after our recent form ?

Yes. We got 20k for our last match. It's the Christmas bank holiday game, there are a lot of £10 tickets about and it's not far from scunny so they would bring about 1k. A lot of the tickets for this match would have been bought before our last 2 games, like mine were.